Midday the water was restored and we discover quite rapidly that some dipstick has left water running somewhere in his flat. He is of course not in residence. The building houses a fair number of 'elderly and infirm', there is much panic among said elderly and infirm as the water begins to flood the four floors below.
The floor immediately below houses a man who is almost 90 years of age and blind. His property is quickly 2 inches deep in water, he won't let anyone in to turn off his electrical supply and no-one can gain access to the flat above creating the problem.
I can't silence the fire alarm which is shrieking, I can't persuade the blind man to let me in but he tells me he is trying to locate his power to turn it off!!!! Whaattt??? Stood in water, blind and infirm???!!! Noooooo!!I am now joined by various elderly souls issuing me with information that the flood is making it's way rapidly down the other four floors....and flapping.
Why has all this suddenly become my responsibility?
Ok....'firm words' issued to blind man about getting the hell out of his flat please and now, 999 call made, this may not be an emergency of enormous proportions but I don't have the local station number and I do have an old man trying his best to fry himself. E.S. operator wants to know everything but what colour my underwear is, strangely I don't have to hand contact numbers for a complete stranger in a building of 40 flats! Stopcock located but of course its too tight for me to shift, flats lower down checked for anyone else in distress and finally old man appears, wet and somewhat confused.
Boys in red appliance show up (sorry, the usual girly 'firemen' aspect is lost on me....I was married to one), narrowly beating the shame-faced owner of the offending flood, access is gained (damn, he deserved to have the fire brigade break down his door) and we discover he has left his power shower turned on and laying on the floor! WTF??
Daughter in law arrives shouting the odds, (hello?...how is this my fault exactly?) and takes charge of blind man, fire brigade 'make safe', owner paddles back into his flat to find insurance papers and finally I can go get a cup of coffee.....all this and did I forget to mention that I had Hammy in my handbag the whole time!!
Well, I didn't know it wasn't actually a fire when the alarm sounded did I??....and I sure as hell didn't get a chance to just 'pop' her back home for a while.
She is one very miffed hamster right now.
Really, I will get packed for this holiday!
8 Comments:
So this alarm clock; really awful is it ?
But seriously folks....I remember when I was a young'un I used to dream of living in a high rise block of flats.....at the top of course. I'd no idea about broken lifts and so on and certainly never considered power showers being left turned on.
Course in my top floor penthouse I'd have been above all that nonsense.
Have a cuppa, a couple of jaffa cakes and think of foreign parts. Noooooo not those parts. Italy I mean. And given your flooding memories, you might wanna pass on Venice.
After all that, Gemmak, you'll be so relieved to get away on holiday.
I think you should rename your blog to "It Shouldn't Happen To Gemmak!".
Paul.
OMG! Is your flat ok? Then you make me pmsl by telling us about Hammy. Did he eat your lippy whilst in your bag? lol
Good grief! That sounds like far too eventful a day to me!
One little shower did that? That's one heck of a lot of water ... and he didn't know???
I'm glad you and Hammy are OK!
Nice start to your hols!
I'm still trying to get UNpacked from mine! :)
Crikey!
Well if you think your hamster is miffed now, wait 'till she realises you've gone to Italy for a couple of weeks or so, without her!?
(Remember... I'm not jealous or anything!) ;O)
Have a fab time!
x
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